February 14, 2025 • 20 mins
Feeling frustrated with your fitness progress despite your hard work at the gym? In this episode of MilesFromHerView, Kat dives into the importance of deload weeks—planned periods of reduced training intensity and volume.
Discover how these strategic recovery periods can help you break through plateaus, avoid burnout, and return stronger. Kat shares insights from her strength training and ultra-marathon runner experience, offering practical advice for incorporating deload weeks into your routine to optimize your long-term fitness journey. If you feel stuck or overworked, this episode is for you!
00:00 Introduction: The Frustration of No Progress
00:35 The Concept of Deload Weeks
00:44 Welcome to MilesFromHerView
03:50 Personal Anecdote: Transition from College Athlete
07:22 Signs You Need a Deload Week
14:44 How to Structure Your Deload Week
17:25 Final Thoughts and Encouragement
19:29 Closing Remarks and Call to Action
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
KAt (00:00):
Have you ever felt Like you're working hard at the gym,
but just not making progress.
You've been working hard week inweek out, but you're just
feeling like there's no progressto be made.
You're feeling sluggish andunmotivated and maybe a little
burnt out.
What if I told you that the keyto unlocking your next level of
(00:21):
strength isn't about pushingharder, but it's actually about
pulling back.
See, we've been so conditionedto think that more is always
better, but what if the secretto breaking through a plateau.
Is actually doing less today.
We're diving into deload weeks.
What are they, why they matterand how taking a step back can
(00:42):
actually push you forward.
Welcome to MilesFromHerVew, thepodcast powered by KatFit
strength, where busy women likeyou find practical solutions to
fuel your fitness journey withauthenticity and resilience.
I'm Kat your host, a mom of twoactive boys, a business owner
and an ultra marathon runner anda strength trainer in her
(01:02):
forties with nearly two decadesof experience.
I'm here to help you cut throughthe noise of fads, hacks, and
quick fixes.
This is a space where wecelebrate womanhood and
motherhood.
All while building strength andresilience and reconnecting with
you from a place of selfcompassion and worthiness.
Whether you're lacing up yourrunning shoes to go out for a
(01:24):
run, driving your kids topractice or squeezing in a
moment for yourself.
I'm right here in the trencheswith you.
Let's dive in.
Welcome back to MilesFromHerView.
I am Kat your host, and my voiceis still a little hoarse.
I am in Southeast Pennsylvania.
I am a diehard Eagles fan.
(01:45):
I have been an Eagles fan sinceI can remember.
So Sunday night.
Absolutely epic.
The funny thing is I didn't evenyell that much or scream.
But here we are.
My voice is still a little inand out, but it was worth it.
It was so incredible to watch itand share that with my kids.
(02:07):
So today's topic is all aboutdeload weeks and it may seem
very counterintuitive at firstif I want to get to the next
stepping back.
will allow me to move forward,but actually deload weeks, there
is a purpose and a reason whythey are scheduled in.
Deload weeks are seen on theathletic level, oftentimes in
(02:28):
college athletics, as well as inelite professional sports.
And they can be useful foreveryday individuals looking to
build muscle, looking to gainthose cardiological benefits of
moving their body.
Incorporating movementpractices, whether it be
swimming, biking, running, etcetera, and how do we
(02:49):
incorporate that into oureveryday life?
Let's start with what is adeload week.
It is a planned reduction intraining intensity and volume to
allow for recovery.
I want to make this distinctionpretty clear.
It's not about doing nothing.
It's a strategic recovery thathelps your body adapt, repair
(03:10):
and come back stronger.
So key points there is it'sabsolutely not about doing
nothing.
It is a strategic recovery.
Because it allows the body toadapt, repair, and come back
stronger.
So all the work that you do,building up to deload week it
allows your body to have thattime to fully recover, repair.
(03:34):
So that it's building more leanmuscle, your muscle mass, and
you're going to come backstronger.
So think of it as an activerecovery period.
Instead of maxing out, you'reallowing that body to absorb all
the work you've been putting in.
Now, for me, when I made thattransition from being a college
(03:54):
athlete and trying to trainafter college, and then trying
to figure out this.
Weirdness, I'm going to say itwas weird for me to be quite
honest for me.
This is my story here.
It was weird for me to think of,well, how do I define my
training now that I'm notspecifically training for an
athletic event?
So I got stuck in the cycle of,I'm going to push my body.
(04:17):
I'm in the gym.
I'm pushing my body.
I'm on the track.
I'm just going to keep pushingmy body.
Week in, week out, I would justpush.
But what I found was.
I started feeling that verysluggish.
I was fatigued.
I was feeling burnt out, but inmy mind, I shouldn't be feeling
that way because the weights Iwas lifting wasn't what I was
(04:39):
lifting when I was in college sotherefore, in my mind, I wasn't
working as hard as I was incollege.
I didn't apply what I knew as anathlete.
And at that time, as a coachcoaching college athletes, that
I still needed that deload week.
(05:00):
In my overall training.
So when I put two and twotogether and yes, being in the
business and knowing theknowledge, sometimes we do not
apply it to ourselves when Istarted putting it in, I noticed
that I was feeling stronger.
I was able to.
Build more strength.
I was able to see more resultsthat I wanted to see.
(05:24):
And the burnout feeling wasless.
You may not be training for anathletic event, but you are
training for life.
Now you may have other goals,but the overarching principle
is.
You're training to help your 24hours a day, seven days a week,
52 weeks a year upon year ondecade, you know, you're
(05:47):
training so that you feelbetter, you feel stronger, you
feel less aches and pains, youare avoiding or reducing your
risk of metabolic diseases thatcould it.
Thank you.
You know, come up in yourdecades in the thirties and
forties, fifties, sixties, youare doing the things that have
(06:09):
been scientifically proven ofstrength training, mobility the
cardio workouts, all of thosethings play together, getting
the rest, getting the nutrientdense foods so that you are
putting your best, forward Tohave the best decades of your
life.
Enjoying the time on this earthas healthy as possible.
(06:30):
If you are pushing yourself inthe gym and I'm going to use a
zero to 10 scale, If you'repushing yourself in the gym at a
level 10 day in, day out, you'regoing at a level 10 at home and
work If you're doing three tofour HIIT workouts a week, and
then you're doing a yogapractice, and a long walk on one
(06:51):
of the days, and you're justpushing, and that long walk
you're, you're pushing superhard, and the yoga, all your
workouts, the intensity is superhigh, It's going to lead to
mental and physical fatigue.
The other thing that's going tohappen is injuries are going to
pop up so with all of thattraining, there is intensity and
(07:11):
volume.
And so when I set up my clients.
Programs.
I'm looking at adjusting thatintensity and volume and putting
in deload weeks where it makessense.
Why you might need a deload weekis the signs you want to look
for is you're feeling more tiredthan usual, even with normal
sleep, again, normal sleep, youare getting consistent.
(07:36):
hours, 68 hours in that range.
Consistent sleep.
More than just a couple ofnights a week.
It is consistent based onminimally a good two to three
months here.
Workouts feel unusuallydifficult.
You're showing up to a workoutand this is feeling harder than
it should be.
So what's called your rate ofperceived exertion that is going
(07:58):
up.
So maybe the workout is supposedto be on an RPE rate of
perceived exertion around a six,but it's feeling like an eight
or a nine.
Or persistent aches and pains ortightness.
The other aspect is loss ofmotivation or just feeling off.
Those are signs that you mightneed that.
So right now we're in the winterseason some of my clients sleep
(08:21):
is a little bit off.
There's been a lot of illnessesthat have been floating around
and we adjust that intensity.
Most of my clients are very busymoms who are.
holding incredible careers andraising incredible children they
might be showing up exhausted totheir workouts.
Let's adjust, provide a deloadweek, especially if they're
(08:43):
coming off a little bit of ahigher intensity training week.
They're still able to maintainthose workouts, but a child gets
sick or snow days happen, etcetera, which increases those
stresses.
We might throw in a deload weekso that they are able to get
that good recovery versuspushing that intensity all the
(09:03):
time.
When you should take a deloadweek so the timing really
depends on your traininghistory, stress levels, and life
demands.
So it kind of talks a little bitabout those life demands and
stress levels because they do goin together.
So when I have a client comingin, and again, this goes into
training history.
So you might feel a littlesluggish going into workouts or
(09:24):
some aches and pains that cropup, especially when you're
starting a workout routine.
When I have clients starting aworkout routine, And they
develop DOMS, Delayed OnsetMuscle Soreness.
I'm looking that they're able togo about their day without
altering how they move.
It clears pretty quickly.
(09:45):
So it's not lasting and they'restill able to function.
They can still show up toanother workout.
If they have young children,lift their children.
They can get up and down off ofa chair relatively easy.
They might feel that soreness.
They're going up and downstairs, picking up things,
moving about.
They're not cringing and they'redefinitely not taking any
(10:07):
NSAIDs.
No Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Motrin,etc.
They are not medicating at all.
If you find yourself that youare, for lack of better terms,
incapacitated when you start atraining routine to the point
where you have to alter yourlife and you're taking NSAIDS,
you're starting at too high of alevel.
(10:28):
Does not mean you're notcapable, but that is way too
much, way too soon.
But going back to that deloadweek, I look at all of that.
So a client is coming in, I'mbuilding their plan, especially
if they're starting out.
So it's meeting them wherethey're at so that they're,
we're working on expanding theirstress capacity.
Working out is.
stress on the body.
(10:49):
We are stressing the muscles.
We are stressing thecardiovascular system so that we
can build a base so that we canbuild a whole human stronger so
that they can see thosecomposition changes, more lean
mass, less non lean mass feelingstronger, feeling more
energized.
So that's how I'm bringing themin.
(11:10):
The deload weeks will be builtin every four to six weeks to
keep the progress steady When Ihave clients who are working
with me a long time, we shiftthat a little bit.
I've had some clients within afour week period.
Take two deload weeks and here'swhy.
Stress on the body is notdistinguished between work
(11:33):
stress, life stress, and workoutstress.
The body only understands stressas stress.
And if I want the client To seethe changes that they need and
how those physiologicaladaptations and they are
juggling kids all of life andthey have a traveling partner.
(11:54):
They themselves have beentraveling to.
They also have had a sick childpop up there.
Another work project dumped onthem.
There are workouts we decidedbefore all of these unforeseen
things have come in, we weregoing to turn up the intensity,
but they're not recovering whilethey're feeling exhausted.
Well, we're gonna put a deloadweek in there because if we keep
(12:17):
that intensity up, it's not thatthey're not capable of handling
that.
I want to make that perfectlyclear.
But if we put a little bit of adeloaded week in there so that
they're able to maintain thatprogress, but allow for better
recovery the following week,when things normalize, maybe
kids are 100 percent healthy,there's not a traveling partner.
(12:38):
They don't have any travel, butthe work stress of that project
is still there.
We're able to increase thatintensity with the workout
again, that it's just right tosee them continue making that
progress.
So the common concerns that I dohear from clients when I tell
them, Hey, we're gonna, we'regonna take a step back is, but I
don't want to lose my progress.
I don't want to lose my muscle.
(12:59):
That's not going to happenbecause your gains that happen
from your workouts are not onlyin that hour that you're doing
that workout or 30 minutes orthe duration of that workout.
They come when you are done thatworkout.
We want that body to absorb allof that.
So the training adaptations notonly come with sleep, but also
(13:22):
come in those deload weeks.
And science shows us that ittakes more than three to four
weeks of complete Inactivity tolose muscle mass.
So complete inactivity.
So you might be like, well, Itook a vacation.
I didn't work out and my workfirst one or two workouts back
or first week of workouts, Ijust felt blah.
(13:44):
I just felt off.
I didn't feel good.
My weights that I left.
Before prior to vacation liftingwere, you know, I couldn't lift
them.
They felt harder.
Well, that's okay.
Your body's going to adapt.
During that deload week, it'snot about no workouts for this
week.
They look different.
(14:06):
So we want to make sure thevolume might be down, the
intensity at which they'relifting might be adjusted, or
for some cases, both volume andintensity might go down for my
training I have a deload week.
They're characterized as aerobicbuild weeks.
There's no speed training.
(14:26):
I adjust a little bit with mystrength training just so I
maximize that full recovery.
I want to make sure that I'mFeeling good and recovered, so
that when I come back and I'm onthat three week build again, I'm
setting myself up for success.
So let's go into how you canapply this.
How to structure your deloadweek.
(14:47):
One way might be in reducingtraining frequency.
Doing three days instead of fivedays.
Or it might look like loweringthe weight selection.
So you might drop to about 50 to60 percent of your usual load.
So just backing off some of thatweight that you're doing or drop
a set or do fewer reps.
(15:07):
Another way to do it is,Changing lifting sessions to a
lot of mobility work or steadystate cardio deload weeks is
really prioritizing,prioritizing hydration, sleep
and nutrition for maximumrecovery.
Going back to that clientexample, where, you know,
they're dealing with all sortsof travel, kid illness, work
(15:28):
projects and deadlines.
What about my workouts duringthose weeks?
We might swap out strengthtraining for mobility work while
they're prioritizing hydration,sleep, and nutrition so that
they're getting that recovery sothat they can show up for
themselves.
Their family in their career,okay, we might throw in some
(15:51):
study state.
I just want you to get movement.
I want you to, if they have awalking pad, if they have some
sort of cardio equipment intheir house or accessible to
them, because again, we're inthe Northeast right now, it's
inclement weather, we're dealingwith ice storms, snow storms,
still limited light in the days.
that I want them moving.
(16:12):
Okay.
So they're still getting theirbody moving.
Steady state cardio is good forthe body is still still helping
gain with those cardiovasculargains.
And the mobility work is kind ofthat placeholder to get back to
the body.
They're holding a lot of stressand tension most likely because
all the things that they'rejuggling.
(16:32):
I want them to focus on thathydration, that nutrition,
because that is also going tohelp that sleep component so
that they are maximizing theirrecovery.
It is not that the week thatwhen everything kind of clears
up, the kid or kids are healthyagain, the partner's home from
travel, they don't have travel.
And you know, the work.
Deadlines have been met thatokay.
(16:54):
Game on that Monday workouts goup to a level a hundred percent.
No, we then work on.
You know, building back in thatvolume, building back in that,
that intensity so that they'refeeling good.
Deload weeks are good and theywork when you are following a
structured plan.
(17:15):
A structured plan is going toallow for progress to be more
consistent and deloads are goingto be built in.
One of the things I want you totake away from here is training
smart is knowing when to pushand to pull back.
This is something that is lostin the loud fitness industry
(17:38):
where it looks like you have topush all the time.
That is not the case.
Knowing when to push and when topull back truly allows for you
to, stay in the game longer.
A deload week is not a setback.
Honestly, it is one of theboldest power moves you can make
(18:02):
to come back stronger and listento yourself because if you're
feeling worn down, take a resetweek.
I know I said there are aboutfour to six weeks.
However, I have clients who arealso proof where we've had to
add them in because whatresearch doesn't understand is
you're 24 hours.
It does not mean it isdiscredited.
But the science is if we pullback when we need to, because
(18:25):
other things are pushing.
So I want you to think aboutthink of all the things that
fill your 24 hours.
The things that you areresponsible and you're also
responsible for your health andhow we stay in that game longer
is knowing when to push and pullin those areas.
If you need to pull back on yourfitness program so that you can
keep showing up the next weekand the following week because
other things need to takepriority again, it's pulling
(18:48):
back for a little bit so thatyou are taking care of your
health with hydration, sleep,nutrition, mobility, things that
allow you to honor that capacityso that you can push.
When you have that ability.
I'd love to know what resonatedwith you.
And if you have questions,please message me.
(19:10):
I want to make sure that you aregaining information from this
podcast.
This podcast is not meant totreat.
It is meant to hopefully debunkand clear up a lot of stuff that
is out there and assist you inyour training program in, and to
meet you where you are truly at.
Thank you for tuning in toMilesFromHerVew powered by
(19:33):
catfish drink.
If this podcast inspires youdon't keep it for yourself, hit,
follow, or subscribe to stayupdated on the new episodes and
leave us a review to help morewomen and moms discover this
space.
Your feedback fuels thispodcast, and I'd love to hear
what's working for you or whattopics you want to dive into
(19:54):
next.
You can connect with me onInstagram at KatFit Strength, or
share this episode.
With a friend who is ready toembrace her strength.
Remember fitness isn't aboutperfection.
It's about showing up foryourself and finding strength in
every step of your journey untilnext time, keep moving forward
one mile at a time.
Have you ever felt Like you're working hard at the gym,
but just not making progress.
You've been working hard week inweek out, but you're just
feeling like there's no progressto be made.
You're feeling sluggish andunmotivated and maybe a little
burnt out.
What if I told you that the keyto unlocking your next level of
(00:21):
strength isn't about pushingharder, but it's actually about
pulling back.
See, we've been so conditionedto think that more is always
better, but what if the secretto breaking through a plateau.
Is actually doing less today.
We're diving into deload weeks.
What are they, why they matterand how taking a step back can
(00:42):
actually push you forward.
Welcome to MilesFromHerVew, thepodcast powered by KatFit
strength, where busy women likeyou find practical solutions to
fuel your fitness journey withauthenticity and resilience.
I'm Kat your host, a mom of twoactive boys, a business owner
and an ultra marathon runner anda strength trainer in her
(01:02):
forties with nearly two decadesof experience.
I'm here to help you cut throughthe noise of fads, hacks, and
quick fixes.
This is a space where wecelebrate womanhood and
motherhood.
All while building strength andresilience and reconnecting with
you from a place of selfcompassion and worthiness.
Whether you're lacing up yourrunning shoes to go out for a
(01:24):
run, driving your kids topractice or squeezing in a
moment for yourself.
I'm right here in the trencheswith you.
Let's dive in.
Welcome back to MilesFromHerView.
I am Kat your host, and my voiceis still a little hoarse.
I am in Southeast Pennsylvania.
I am a diehard Eagles fan.
(01:45):
I have been an Eagles fan sinceI can remember.
So Sunday night.
Absolutely epic.
The funny thing is I didn't evenyell that much or scream.
But here we are.
My voice is still a little inand out, but it was worth it.
It was so incredible to watch itand share that with my kids.
(02:07):
So today's topic is all aboutdeload weeks and it may seem
very counterintuitive at firstif I want to get to the next
stepping back.
will allow me to move forward,but actually deload weeks, there
is a purpose and a reason whythey are scheduled in.
Deload weeks are seen on theathletic level, oftentimes in
(02:28):
college athletics, as well as inelite professional sports.
And they can be useful foreveryday individuals looking to
build muscle, looking to gainthose cardiological benefits of
moving their body.
Incorporating movementpractices, whether it be
swimming, biking, running, etcetera, and how do we
(02:49):
incorporate that into oureveryday life?
Let's start with what is adeload week.
It is a planned reduction intraining intensity and volume to
allow for recovery.
I want to make this distinctionpretty clear.
It's not about doing nothing.
It's a strategic recovery thathelps your body adapt, repair
(03:10):
and come back stronger.
So key points there is it'sabsolutely not about doing
nothing.
It is a strategic recovery.
Because it allows the body toadapt, repair, and come back
stronger.
So all the work that you do,building up to deload week it
allows your body to have thattime to fully recover, repair.
(03:34):
So that it's building more leanmuscle, your muscle mass, and
you're going to come backstronger.
So think of it as an activerecovery period.
Instead of maxing out, you'reallowing that body to absorb all
the work you've been putting in.
Now, for me, when I made thattransition from being a college
(03:54):
athlete and trying to trainafter college, and then trying
to figure out this.
Weirdness, I'm going to say itwas weird for me to be quite
honest for me.
This is my story here.
It was weird for me to think of,well, how do I define my
training now that I'm notspecifically training for an
athletic event?
So I got stuck in the cycle of,I'm going to push my body.
(04:17):
I'm in the gym.
I'm pushing my body.
I'm on the track.
I'm just going to keep pushingmy body.
Week in, week out, I would justpush.
But what I found was.
I started feeling that verysluggish.
I was fatigued.
I was feeling burnt out, but inmy mind, I shouldn't be feeling
that way because the weights Iwas lifting wasn't what I was
(04:39):
lifting when I was in college sotherefore, in my mind, I wasn't
working as hard as I was incollege.
I didn't apply what I knew as anathlete.
And at that time, as a coachcoaching college athletes, that
I still needed that deload week.
(05:00):
In my overall training.
So when I put two and twotogether and yes, being in the
business and knowing theknowledge, sometimes we do not
apply it to ourselves when Istarted putting it in, I noticed
that I was feeling stronger.
I was able to.
Build more strength.
I was able to see more resultsthat I wanted to see.
(05:24):
And the burnout feeling wasless.
You may not be training for anathletic event, but you are
training for life.
Now you may have other goals,but the overarching principle
is.
You're training to help your 24hours a day, seven days a week,
52 weeks a year upon year ondecade, you know, you're
(05:47):
training so that you feelbetter, you feel stronger, you
feel less aches and pains, youare avoiding or reducing your
risk of metabolic diseases thatcould it.
Thank you.
You know, come up in yourdecades in the thirties and
forties, fifties, sixties, youare doing the things that have
(06:09):
been scientifically proven ofstrength training, mobility the
cardio workouts, all of thosethings play together, getting
the rest, getting the nutrientdense foods so that you are
putting your best, forward Tohave the best decades of your
life.
Enjoying the time on this earthas healthy as possible.
(06:30):
If you are pushing yourself inthe gym and I'm going to use a
zero to 10 scale, If you'repushing yourself in the gym at a
level 10 day in, day out, you'regoing at a level 10 at home and
work If you're doing three tofour HIIT workouts a week, and
then you're doing a yogapractice, and a long walk on one
(06:51):
of the days, and you're justpushing, and that long walk
you're, you're pushing superhard, and the yoga, all your
workouts, the intensity is superhigh, It's going to lead to
mental and physical fatigue.
The other thing that's going tohappen is injuries are going to
pop up so with all of thattraining, there is intensity and
(07:11):
volume.
And so when I set up my clients.
Programs.
I'm looking at adjusting thatintensity and volume and putting
in deload weeks where it makessense.
Why you might need a deload weekis the signs you want to look
for is you're feeling more tiredthan usual, even with normal
sleep, again, normal sleep, youare getting consistent.
(07:36):
hours, 68 hours in that range.
Consistent sleep.
More than just a couple ofnights a week.
It is consistent based onminimally a good two to three
months here.
Workouts feel unusuallydifficult.
You're showing up to a workoutand this is feeling harder than
it should be.
So what's called your rate ofperceived exertion that is going
(07:58):
up.
So maybe the workout is supposedto be on an RPE rate of
perceived exertion around a six,but it's feeling like an eight
or a nine.
Or persistent aches and pains ortightness.
The other aspect is loss ofmotivation or just feeling off.
Those are signs that you mightneed that.
So right now we're in the winterseason some of my clients sleep
(08:21):
is a little bit off.
There's been a lot of illnessesthat have been floating around
and we adjust that intensity.
Most of my clients are very busymoms who are.
holding incredible careers andraising incredible children they
might be showing up exhausted totheir workouts.
Let's adjust, provide a deloadweek, especially if they're
(08:43):
coming off a little bit of ahigher intensity training week.
They're still able to maintainthose workouts, but a child gets
sick or snow days happen, etcetera, which increases those
stresses.
We might throw in a deload weekso that they are able to get
that good recovery versuspushing that intensity all the
(09:03):
time.
When you should take a deloadweek so the timing really
depends on your traininghistory, stress levels, and life
demands.
So it kind of talks a little bitabout those life demands and
stress levels because they do goin together.
So when I have a client comingin, and again, this goes into
training history.
So you might feel a littlesluggish going into workouts or
(09:24):
some aches and pains that cropup, especially when you're
starting a workout routine.
When I have clients starting aworkout routine, And they
develop DOMS, Delayed OnsetMuscle Soreness.
I'm looking that they're able togo about their day without
altering how they move.
It clears pretty quickly.
(09:45):
So it's not lasting and they'restill able to function.
They can still show up toanother workout.
If they have young children,lift their children.
They can get up and down off ofa chair relatively easy.
They might feel that soreness.
They're going up and downstairs, picking up things,
moving about.
They're not cringing and they'redefinitely not taking any
(10:07):
NSAIDs.
No Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Motrin,etc.
They are not medicating at all.
If you find yourself that youare, for lack of better terms,
incapacitated when you start atraining routine to the point
where you have to alter yourlife and you're taking NSAIDS,
you're starting at too high of alevel.
(10:28):
Does not mean you're notcapable, but that is way too
much, way too soon.
But going back to that deloadweek, I look at all of that.
So a client is coming in, I'mbuilding their plan, especially
if they're starting out.
So it's meeting them wherethey're at so that they're,
we're working on expanding theirstress capacity.
Working out is.
stress on the body.
(10:49):
We are stressing the muscles.
We are stressing thecardiovascular system so that we
can build a base so that we canbuild a whole human stronger so
that they can see thosecomposition changes, more lean
mass, less non lean mass feelingstronger, feeling more
energized.
So that's how I'm bringing themin.
(11:10):
The deload weeks will be builtin every four to six weeks to
keep the progress steady When Ihave clients who are working
with me a long time, we shiftthat a little bit.
I've had some clients within afour week period.
Take two deload weeks and here'swhy.
Stress on the body is notdistinguished between work
(11:33):
stress, life stress, and workoutstress.
The body only understands stressas stress.
And if I want the client To seethe changes that they need and
how those physiologicaladaptations and they are
juggling kids all of life andthey have a traveling partner.
(11:54):
They themselves have beentraveling to.
They also have had a sick childpop up there.
Another work project dumped onthem.
There are workouts we decidedbefore all of these unforeseen
things have come in, we weregoing to turn up the intensity,
but they're not recovering whilethey're feeling exhausted.
Well, we're gonna put a deloadweek in there because if we keep
(12:17):
that intensity up, it's not thatthey're not capable of handling
that.
I want to make that perfectlyclear.
But if we put a little bit of adeloaded week in there so that
they're able to maintain thatprogress, but allow for better
recovery the following week,when things normalize, maybe
kids are 100 percent healthy,there's not a traveling partner.
(12:38):
They don't have any travel, butthe work stress of that project
is still there.
We're able to increase thatintensity with the workout
again, that it's just right tosee them continue making that
progress.
So the common concerns that I dohear from clients when I tell
them, Hey, we're gonna, we'regonna take a step back is, but I
don't want to lose my progress.
I don't want to lose my muscle.
(12:59):
That's not going to happenbecause your gains that happen
from your workouts are not onlyin that hour that you're doing
that workout or 30 minutes orthe duration of that workout.
They come when you are done thatworkout.
We want that body to absorb allof that.
So the training adaptations notonly come with sleep, but also
(13:22):
come in those deload weeks.
And science shows us that ittakes more than three to four
weeks of complete Inactivity tolose muscle mass.
So complete inactivity.
So you might be like, well, Itook a vacation.
I didn't work out and my workfirst one or two workouts back
or first week of workouts, Ijust felt blah.
(13:44):
I just felt off.
I didn't feel good.
My weights that I left.
Before prior to vacation liftingwere, you know, I couldn't lift
them.
They felt harder.
Well, that's okay.
Your body's going to adapt.
During that deload week, it'snot about no workouts for this
week.
They look different.
(14:06):
So we want to make sure thevolume might be down, the
intensity at which they'relifting might be adjusted, or
for some cases, both volume andintensity might go down for my
training I have a deload week.
They're characterized as aerobicbuild weeks.
There's no speed training.
(14:26):
I adjust a little bit with mystrength training just so I
maximize that full recovery.
I want to make sure that I'mFeeling good and recovered, so
that when I come back and I'm onthat three week build again, I'm
setting myself up for success.
So let's go into how you canapply this.
How to structure your deloadweek.
(14:47):
One way might be in reducingtraining frequency.
Doing three days instead of fivedays.
Or it might look like loweringthe weight selection.
So you might drop to about 50 to60 percent of your usual load.
So just backing off some of thatweight that you're doing or drop
a set or do fewer reps.
(15:07):
Another way to do it is,Changing lifting sessions to a
lot of mobility work or steadystate cardio deload weeks is
really prioritizing,prioritizing hydration, sleep
and nutrition for maximumrecovery.
Going back to that clientexample, where, you know,
they're dealing with all sortsof travel, kid illness, work
(15:28):
projects and deadlines.
What about my workouts duringthose weeks?
We might swap out strengthtraining for mobility work while
they're prioritizing hydration,sleep, and nutrition so that
they're getting that recovery sothat they can show up for
themselves.
Their family in their career,okay, we might throw in some
(15:51):
study state.
I just want you to get movement.
I want you to, if they have awalking pad, if they have some
sort of cardio equipment intheir house or accessible to
them, because again, we're inthe Northeast right now, it's
inclement weather, we're dealingwith ice storms, snow storms,
still limited light in the days.
that I want them moving.
(16:12):
Okay.
So they're still getting theirbody moving.
Steady state cardio is good forthe body is still still helping
gain with those cardiovasculargains.
And the mobility work is kind ofthat placeholder to get back to
the body.
They're holding a lot of stressand tension most likely because
all the things that they'rejuggling.
(16:32):
I want them to focus on thathydration, that nutrition,
because that is also going tohelp that sleep component so
that they are maximizing theirrecovery.
It is not that the week thatwhen everything kind of clears
up, the kid or kids are healthyagain, the partner's home from
travel, they don't have travel.
And you know, the work.
Deadlines have been met thatokay.
(16:54):
Game on that Monday workouts goup to a level a hundred percent.
No, we then work on.
You know, building back in thatvolume, building back in that,
that intensity so that they'refeeling good.
Deload weeks are good and theywork when you are following a
structured plan.
(17:15):
A structured plan is going toallow for progress to be more
consistent and deloads are goingto be built in.
One of the things I want you totake away from here is training
smart is knowing when to pushand to pull back.
This is something that is lostin the loud fitness industry
(17:38):
where it looks like you have topush all the time.
That is not the case.
Knowing when to push and when topull back truly allows for you
to, stay in the game longer.
A deload week is not a setback.
Honestly, it is one of theboldest power moves you can make
(18:02):
to come back stronger and listento yourself because if you're
feeling worn down, take a resetweek.
I know I said there are aboutfour to six weeks.
However, I have clients who arealso proof where we've had to
add them in because whatresearch doesn't understand is
you're 24 hours.
It does not mean it isdiscredited.
But the science is if we pullback when we need to, because
(18:25):
other things are pushing.
So I want you to think aboutthink of all the things that
fill your 24 hours.
The things that you areresponsible and you're also
responsible for your health andhow we stay in that game longer
is knowing when to push and pullin those areas.
If you need to pull back on yourfitness program so that you can
keep showing up the next weekand the following week because
other things need to takepriority again, it's pulling
(18:48):
back for a little bit so thatyou are taking care of your
health with hydration, sleep,nutrition, mobility, things that
allow you to honor that capacityso that you can push.
When you have that ability.
I'd love to know what resonatedwith you.
And if you have questions,please message me.
(19:10):
I want to make sure that you aregaining information from this
podcast.
This podcast is not meant totreat.
It is meant to hopefully debunkand clear up a lot of stuff that
is out there and assist you inyour training program in, and to
meet you where you are truly at.
Thank you for tuning in toMilesFromHerVew powered by
(19:33):
catfish drink.
If this podcast inspires youdon't keep it for yourself, hit,
follow, or subscribe to stayupdated on the new episodes and
leave us a review to help morewomen and moms discover this
space.
Your feedback fuels thispodcast, and I'd love to hear
what's working for you or whattopics you want to dive into
(19:54):
next.
You can connect with me onInstagram at KatFit Strength, or
share this episode.
With a friend who is ready toembrace her strength.
Remember fitness isn't aboutperfection.
It's about showing up foryourself and finding strength in
every step of your journey untilnext time, keep moving forward
one mile at a time.
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